Walter the Farting Dog
by William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray
illustrated by, Audrey Colman
Ah-farting. Such controversy!
Seriously, I thought this book was hilarious. Adults can be so serious sometimes, and if anyone has spent time with children ages 7-11, you know that there isn't anything quite as funny as a fart joke. This book tells the story of Walter the dog, who is at risk of being sent back to the dog pound thanks to his farting problem. The family tries everything they can to change Walter's farting habits, but in the end, Walter is Walter, and the family learns to love him just as he is.
I think the only reason I might hesitate to use this book in a classroom setting would be from a classroom management perspective. I can imagine a room full of third graders losing complete control as I read this book. I understand that some people may find farting to be an offensive and rude behavior, but given that this book doesn't advocate children farting in inappropriate places- we are talking about a dog here- I think the world should be able to handle this little bit of "controversy."
I haven't ever read this book before, but I liked that you viewed the controversy in a classroom management sort of way. I agree that this would be a fine book to read to students, as long as there is justification for doing so, but that the students might loose control. I can also just imagine a classroom of third graders listening to this book - there would always be the students who can't stop laughing! I think that the controversy lies in what is appropriate and the reasoning behind the decision to read the book aloud. I'm not sure what justification would suffice, but I think there would have to be something other than "just for fun".
ReplyDeleteI read this book too and I did not enjoy it as much as you seemed to. BUT you do have children and I think that it puts it into perspective for you. I can certainly appreciate the appeal that it has for children and I certainly understand the appeal of a farting joke but I myself just didn't enjoy the story. I really liked your point of the classroom management perspective because it is very true. A classroom of students would be dying laughing while we as teachers would be trying to keep the calm. Not a very good situation. While I didn't like this book, I don't see it as controversial either, but I probably won't be reading it aloud to my classroom. Thanks for your ideas!
ReplyDeleteKatie H.
"Ah-farting. Such controversy!"
ReplyDeleteHaha! I love that you started this post out that way... it made me laugh :) But I COMPLETELY agree with you; adults can be too serious sometimes! I haven't read this one but from what you described it seems to be quite a funny book, and I don't see how much controversy could come of it. Yes, it's probably not something I would read in the middle of a lesson to a group of students, but for silent reading time, I don't see what the big deal would be... unless the student did take it a bit too far and became disruptive. But hey, that could happen with any book, right?